Titanium Noir

A Novel

By: Nick Harkaway

Narrated by: Davis Brooks

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

A virtuosic mashup of Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler by way of Marvel—the story of a detective investigating the murder of a Titan, one of society’s most powerful, medically-enhanced elites. • “Cross-genre brilliance from the superbly talented Nick Harkaway.” —William Gibson, New York Times best-selling author of Agency

"An exemplar of its genre, Titanium Noir twists and turns between excellent fun and deep melancholy." —The New York Times Book Review

Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he’s surprised by the routineness of it all. But when he arrives on scene, Cal soon learns that the victim—Roddy Tebbit, an otherwise milquetoast techie—is well over seven feet tall. And although he doesn’t look a day over thirty, he is ninety-one years old. Tebbit is a Titan—one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically altered elites. And this case is definitely Cal’s thing.

There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca’s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to godlike status. T7 turns average humans into near-immortal distortions of themselves—with immense physical proportions to match their ostentatious, unreachable lifestyles. A dead Titan is big news . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But these modified magnates are Cal’s specialty. In fact, his own ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not just any—she is Stefan’s daughter, heir to the massive Tonfamecasca empire.

As the murder investigation intensifies, Cal begins to unravel the complicated threads of what should have been a straightforward case, and it becomes clear he’s on the trail of a crime whose roots run deep into the dark heart of the world.

©2023 Nick Harkaway (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Titanium Noir [is] a funny, voice-y book full of fantastic sentences that, as the youths say, absolutely slap. It’s the kind of writing that reminds you that poetry and detective fiction have a lot in common. . . . An exemplar of its genre, Titanium Noir twists and turns between excellent fun and deep melancholy." —The New York Times

“Cal Sounder crashes like a wrecking ball through a world of privilege and secrets. . . . If Titanium Noir turns out to be the first book in a series of Sounder’s adventures … I’d welcome more.” —The Washington Post

“A detective tries to investigate a killing in a dystopian city where the haves and have-nots are divided by more than just money. . . . Surprising and gratifying." —The Wall Street Journal

Down the rabbit hole

Loved the twists, turns, and backflips as our detective weaves between the haves and have nots while unraveling the mystery.

Exciting to see new work from Nick Harkaway

Fun and clever read. Not my favorite Nick Harkaway book but nevertheless a delicious and worthwhile time. Awesome world building, great characters and as always new surprising storytelling as he reinvents genres every time.

darn good entertaining listen

A fun pulpy story that doesn't insult your intelligence. Looking forward to more like this.

Davis Brooks ROCKS!!!

Davis Brooks has so many voices, you'd think it was A PLAY happening. Great story.

Not a bad story, but not what I was expecting

This is a bit different than I’m used to from the author. Good narration, an intriguing story, but very different from his other novels. This might have been a good one for Aidan Truhen maybe?

A great world and wonderful narration

I love a good mystery and the setting is interesting. The author puts a cool spin on the noir novel without over doing it, feels like a real lived in world. Davis Brooks does a fantastic job and I look forward hearing more of his performances in the future.

No spoilers

Interesting concept & an overall fun story. Well paced, story didn’t lag. All the pieces fit well. Narration was well done.

Entertaining

This book was fun but a little predictable. The narration is pretty good. If you’re looking for a slightly sci-fi-gum-shoe mystery then you could do worse.

One of the most tremendously

Fun romps I’ve ever heard, plotting is perfect, concept is compelling and well controlled. Brilliant

Hawkaway's most disappointing novel

As a big Harkaway fan, I was happy to see this new title. I do not read detective and crime fiction so I cannot say how this fits the tradition. The book is very linear, moving from episode to episode, without Harkaway's brilliant shifts of story and context (think Gnomon). The characters were not deeply drawn, although some of them were amusing (Doublewide, Sam). It would have been interesting to know more about the history of the Titans and the nature of the nearly miraculous genetic treatment, and why the Titans coexist with ordinary society, but this might not fit in the point-to-point narrative. There are some very violent fight scenes that are so bizarre and creative as to become horrifyingly funny. The resolution left me flat - oh, yeah, so that's it. Hoping for better from this very talented author.